Golan Explosion Was Bomb Targeting IDF

The IDF said Saturday that a blast the previous evening on the Golan Heights was from a bomb detonated as patrolling troops passed by, but that there were no casualties.

An investigation of the incident, which took place near the Syrian border, concluded that "the explosion was caused by a concealed explosive device operated against Israeli soldiers," a statement said.

No casualties were reported from the explosion, but a military vehicle suffered some minor damage.

The bomb occurred on the Syrian-held side of the border, which had been mostly quiet until the Syrian uprising erupted in 2011. Tension have increased since then but there have only been minor flare-ups, with Syrian small arms fire or mortar rounds hitting the Israeli side, prompting Israel to respond occasionally.

On Monday, IDF forces on the Golan Heights near the Syria border were shot at from a Syrian army outpost. The IDF returned fire and identified a direct hit on a Syrian soldier. No IDF soldiers were injured.

That clash followed a mortar shell fired into Israel from Syria earlier in the day. The shell landed 50 meters (160 feet) from a house in the Israeli Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights and caused no injuries or damage.

In October, two Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded by cross-border fire in the Golan Heights, along the border with Syria.

This latest bombing comes after Hezbollah - a close ally of Damascus - blamed Israel for the assassination of a senior commander on Wednesday.

Hassan Hawlo al-Lakiss was shot dead by assassins near his home close to the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Israel has denied involvement in the killing, and warned the Iranian-backed Shia group, which is heavily involved in the Syrian civil war on behalf of the Assad regime, against attacking the Jewish state in response.